On yer bike! Business and the Tour de France

Phil Meekin

Elite sport such as the Tour de France is a powerful metaphor for business with some striking parallels. Success in both sports and business relies on the ability to continually move performance to higher levels.

Yorkshire is ready to welcome the Tour de France – the world’s greatest cycling event – to its cities, dales, repaired roads and hills of God’s county.

Euphoria about the Grand Depart has finally begun to trickle into the minds of South Yorkshire.

Optimism amongst businesses on the route, particularly hospitality, leisure and retailing, is high.

The event offers us the chance to see some of the best, and most determined, athletes. They will be pedalling our streets at high speed for the chance to wear the coveted yellow jersey.

Competition, goals, targets, strategies, tactics, hard work, perseverance, determination, teamwork, dealing with success and recovering from setbacks and failure are all attributes and challenges of sport.

But the same is true of business.

Elite sport is a powerful metaphor for business with some striking parallels. Success in both sports and business relies on the ability to continually move performance to higher levels.

Achievements this year need to be improved for next year. Goals and standards move onward and upward, creating the demand to find new means and methods to ensure higher performance.

Of course there will always be winners and losers.

Over the last few years, some businesses may have felt they were pedalling in treacle or swimming against the tide!

Athletes do provide many inspirational pointers for any business. Making it to the top is the result of careful planning, setting and hitting goals and once you are at the top, having what it takes to stay there. Sustained success requires tremendous effort and resilience. Expectations can be enormous.

The recession has depleted reserves and many business owners face a shortage of cash to expand as the economy emerges from recession.

So what is your training plan if you cannot raise finance and are concerned about surviving in the coming months?

As with any good athlete who has a niggling injury which could prevent long term recovery, early advice is key and staying focussed on the goal despite distractions. Many businesses bounce back from setbacks with a greater determination and hardened desire to succeed.

In this situation, businesses can source various forms of funding or plan a survival strategy and we can help you do just that.

Acting sooner could result not only on survival, but coming out with a stronger and fitter business.